Roughly 35 percent of the party’s 184,000 members took part in the three-week ballot, the party announced. Most of the 17 proposals were backed by at least two-thirds of those who voted. The result is seen as a show of support for co-chairs Franziska Brantner and Felix Banaszak, who had campaigned for the changes.
The reform aims to streamline the party’s often lengthy conventions. In the future, higher quorums will apply to motions, along with longer lead times and stricter requirements for candidates seeking positions on the federal executive board. The party council, an advisory body, will include state and parliamentary group leaders as well as any federal ministers from the party. The party is also loosening the separation between party office and parliamentary mandates: instead of the previous one-third limit, up to half of the federal executive board may now hold seats in parliament, with a maximum of two holding a Bundestag mandate.
Pegah Edalatian, who will now hold the title of “General Secretary” instead of “Political Managing Director,” stressed that the party’s working groups would not be stripped of power. Critics, however, fear too much power is being concentrated in the hands of party officials. An attempt to block the membership vote through the courts failed: the Berlin Regional Court rejected a request for a temporary injunction. The members who filed the lawsuit have announced they may appeal the decision after the vote.
Source: Stadt München
